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Folks, I'm planning to switch from stock bulbs to something brighter but fully compatible (same spec as OEM) for my Civic. Civic headlamp setup has HB4-51w/HB3-60w for Low/High-beams. I'm considering at the following. Please let me know your thoughts/suggestions. Thanx.

Ring Xenon Max
Ring Ultra Xenon
Philips X-tremePower (low-beam only)

The Philips XP is a good choice, I believe Vasoo has this on his car. He had got it from Hong Kong or Singapore as they are not available here. Not sure about Ring, never heard of them. Are they available in India?

I got Philips Premium for my Civic and they are a definite improvement over the stock beam.
Philips Linky

@mkc15 & Hiren: I have a feeling that the first two should be HID, unless they are just Xenon filled Halogens! So the same spec as OEM goes out of the window.

Philips Xtreme Power is definitely at least 30-40% better than the stock ones and they are plug and play. No changes required anywhere. The bulbs I got are made in India (Kolkatta to be precise) and it should be available in some shops here. But I could not get them in any place that I know. Hence I ordered it through ebay.

The other two bulbs seem to have good reviews on the net and is said to produce more "whiter" light than the Philips ones, though whiter light doesn't necessarily mean better visibility. The claim of 80%, 90% more light etc should be taken with a bag of salt though!

@sgiitk: Those are regular halogen bulbs. Like you said it may be tweaked with some Xenon-like features which probably result in the white light.

@vasoo: If the are halogens, then they have to run hotter to generate more light, which will be a white/bluer colour. You cannot combine the characteristic of HID and Incandescent. The gas mixture will have to be different and by the name appears to be Xenon + some halogen rather than Argon + halogen.

Thanx for the replies. Yes these are Xenon added bulbs and not HID's. What I'm not sure about is, how much heat would this produce and if it can melt! the reflector/lens. I'm looking at Ring, because they have both HB3 and HB4 (Philips Xtreme does *not* come in HB3!), and the power ratings match perfectly. These are *not* available in India FWIK; was planing to order from here (UK). I'll go for Ring all around or Ring for High and Xtreme for Low/Fogs.

Here is some text on Ring XenonMax.
"
Ring Xenon Max + 100% 12v 51w/60W
This fantastic new +100% bulb from Ring Automotive offers 100% more light on the road with a slightly whiter light. This makes night driving much easier as it provides better reflection from road markings and signs. It also means objects can be seen more clearly at a distance of 75m on dipped beam, for greater safety.

Benefits

• 100% more light on the road over a standard halogen bulb
• Safer night driving
• Whiter light with enhanced performance for greater light output
• Fully 'E' Marked and road legal
• UV protected and suitable for use in plastic lenses
• Ideal for professional, non-urban night drivers and family vehicles

Who would buy these

Those who are after a bulb that offers them maximum light output on the road without converting to a Xenon HID system. Those who are also after a slightly whiter light.
"

As mentioned by me to get a higher output the bulbs will have to run hotter, and hence the whiter light. Since the power ratings are the same, there is no extra heat involved. The heating may, if anything, be marginally lower since a higher light output means that a lower fraction (not significant in my view) of the energy consumed becomes heat!

Let me explain the halogen lamp working in simple language. A hotter filament is more efficient. However, too hot a filament has a shorter life. By putting some halogen (remember the first halogen bulbs were called quartz-iodine) the evaporated tungsten forms an unstable complex with the halogen, and is deposited back onto the filament. This was the filament is being lost by evaporation and redeposited on the metal. You need a quartz envelope running very hot to stop the metal from depositing on the inside surface. By using a heavier (and costlier) gas like Xenon you can increase the redeposition and thus run the filament hotter. On the other hand an HID lamp uses a gas discharge (like a flash lamp) to produce the light.

Right. And that efficiency factor could be the only differentiator in all these so called XX% extra light factor for most of these aftermarket bulbs. Most of them claim to have "improved gas composition, efficient design and precise placement of the filament etc" as the factors. My feel is that this may compromise on the longevity.

@vasoo: Not necessarily. A more expensive gas mixture (Xenon based as against Argon based) will improve the deposition characteristics of the unstable halides, allowing higher (and more efficient) filament temperatures. . This is improved gas composition. They may be using smaller filaments for an even brighter hot spot. This is efficient design. Now most of them use a 3D video based alignment so the precise filament placement may be more of advertising than for real.

I do not think in terms of life they should differ too much - but a hotter filament on our rough roads may just fail quicker.

@hiren: How much did the Philips Extreme bulbs cost you and does it warrant any modifications like adding a relay etc ? The stock bulbs in the Civic are a major let down and am desperately looking to go in for better bulbs. Appreciate any feedback you can provide. Also does it void warranty?

rr_zex: I think no mods are required for any of the three lamps under discussion. They are all normal wattage halogens.

I don't have the extreme bulbs, I could not find them here in Bombay. So I had to make do with the premium series and I found them to be better that stock bulbs (Sylvania I think).
No relays were required, they are replacement bulbs. Plug and play.

I seem to have this issue with smelly air conditioning of late. What solution was provided for this by the dealers? Is it something to do with just cleaning up some of the vents or some other issue?

Shuvc faced this issue and got it fixed. Same was the case with me. It was disheartening to experience that on a new car, but thankfully it seems to have been comprehensively fixed.

The service advisor told me that they just cleaned the vents and air passages. The problem didn't re-appear over the past 27 days/900-odd kms.

Regards,
spadix

Actually, I was not keen on upgrading bulbs as I always felt they are OK and do the job. But recently after a couple of instances on the highway as well as city, I felt they are inadequate(may be a bit unsafe as well) and upgrade is a must. Plug-n-play is a prime requirement for me as well to avoid any possible warranty hassles. Ring ones match to the dot and Philips is off by a mere 4w.

IIRC, someone on this forum suggested using a spell of heater at the end of the day to sterilize the ducts.